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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is tasked with deploying a…
A technician is tasked with deploying a virtualized environment for a small office using a single server. The server has 64 GB RAM, two 6-core CPUs, and a RAID 10 array. The technician needs to run four VMs: a domain controller (4 GB), a file server (8 GB), a web server (4 GB), and a database server (16 GB). After deployment, the database server is performing poorly. The technician notices that the hypervisor has allocated 2 virtual CPUs to each VM. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the database server’s poor performance?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The database server VM should have more virtual CPUs allocated, such as 4 vCPUs.
The database server is a resource-intensive application that often benefits from multiple CPU cores for parallel processing of queries and transactions. Allocating only 2 vCPUs to it, especially when other less demanding VMs also receive 2 vCPUs, makes it highly susceptible to CPU starvation. The server has 12 physical cores, so there is sufficient capacity to increase the database server's vCPU allocation (e.g., to 4 vCPUs) to better match its workload demands and improve performance. This tests understanding of proper resource allocation in virtualization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The RAID 10 array is not fast enough for database I/O.
Why it's wrong here
RAID 10 combines striping and mirroring, offering excellent read/write performance and fault tolerance, making it a strong choice for I/O-intensive database workloads. Therefore, it is unlikely that the RAID 10 array itself is the primary bottleneck for general database performance. The issue more commonly lies with resource contention at the CPU or memory level within the virtualized environment, especially when virtual CPUs are equally distributed among diverse workloads.
- ✓
The database server VM should have more virtual CPUs allocated, such as 4 vCPUs.
Why this is correct
Database servers are typically CPU-intensive, requiring significant processing power to handle queries, transactions, and data manipulation. Allocating only 2 virtual CPUs (vCPUs) to a database server VM can lead to CPU contention, especially when other VMs are also competing for host CPU cycles. Increasing the vCPU count to 4 or more provides the database server with dedicated processing resources, significantly improving its ability to manage concurrent operations and enhance overall performance.
- ✗
The hypervisor is using a Type 2 hypervisor, causing overhead.
Why it's wrong here
A Type 2 hypervisor, also known as a hosted hypervisor, runs on top of an existing operating system, introducing an additional layer of abstraction and resource overhead. This overhead can significantly degrade VM performance compared to a Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor, which interacts directly with the hardware. However, the scenario does not specify the hypervisor type, and enterprise virtualization deployments typically utilize Type 1 hypervisors for optimal performance, making this an unlikely or unconfirmed cause.
- ✗
The virtual switch is configured for 100 Mbps instead of 1 Gbps.
Why it's wrong here
Network speed primarily impacts data transfer rates between the VM and external clients or other network resources, affecting throughput for network-bound operations. While a 100 Mbps virtual switch would limit network bandwidth, general database performance issues are often rooted in local processing (CPU) or storage I/O, not solely network speed. If the database itself is slow, it's more probable that the bottleneck is within the VM's allocated CPU, memory, or storage subsystem rather than the virtual network interface.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Virtualization Concepts and Hypervisors
Key term
Redundant Array of Independent Disks
A technology that combines multiple physical hard drives into a single logical unit to improve performance, reliability, or both.
Key term
RAID 10
RAID 10 combines RAID 1 mirroring and RAID 0 striping to provide both high performance and fault tolerance by writing identical data across mirrored pairs that are then striped for speed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.